1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a collision test apparatus and a collision test method which collide a projectile projected from a projection device with a test piece supported by a test piece supporting base for checking a state of collision of the projectile with the test piece or how the test piece is damaged thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-195798 has made publicly known an object ejecting apparatus for conducting a strength test by colliding a bird with a windshield glass of an aircraft at a predetermined speed, or colliding an object such as a stone with a construction material at a predetermined speed. The object ejecting apparatus includes a sabot supporting an ejected object at the sabot's front end, the sabot housed movably in a cylinder, and makes the sabot collide with stoppers by accelerating the sabot by use of compressed air reserved in an air tank to thereby eject the object.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-247941 has made publicly known a shooting apparatus for conducting an impact resistance test by colliding a projectile, such as a steel ball, with a fuselage or windshield glass of an aircraft. The shooting apparatus includes a valve element made of a rotary cylinder containing a projectile, the valve element being provided in a base part of a barrel connected to an air tank. The shooting apparatus releases pressurized air from the air tank by rotating the valve element to thereby eject the projectile through the barrel.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2005-55216 has made publicly known a hail impact test apparatus and method for testing the durability of a solar cell shell or a solar cell module by colliding an ice ball, imitating a piece of hail, with the solar cell shell or the solar cell module. The hail impact test apparatus ejects an ice ball contained in a shooting cylinder by use of compressed air reserved in an air tank.
These conventional types of test apparatus have such a structure that an object is projected by use of compressed air reserved in a pressure vessel. For this reason, these conventional types of test apparatus need to include such a pressure vessel and a pressure source for accumulating pressure in the pressure vessel. This brings about not only a problem that it is difficult to handle the test apparatus, but also a problem that the facilities have to be large so that the costs are accordingly pushed up.